The present invention relates generally to packet radio networks and, more particularly, to systems and methods for providing improved user-friendly packet delivery techniques in mobile packet radio networks.
Wireless data communication is often required in an environment where communications infrastructure, such as base stations or a wired backbone network, does not exist or is uneconomical or impractical to use. For example, in military or emergency environments, adequate infrastructure often does not exist in necessary locations and constructing such an infrastructure would be either impractical or uneconomical for the short-term use that is often required. Mobile wireless networks, which permit communication between wireless devices in the network over an air interface link without routing packets through any portion of a conventional cellular network, such as the wired backbone network, base station controllers, or base stations, have therefore been developed to provide wireless data communications in such environments.
Point-to-point communication in a mobile wireless network suffers from a number of disadvantages. One disadvantage is the limited transmission range associated with each wireless device in the network. Each wireless device in the network is limited in the distance over which it can reliably transmit, with transmission ranges of between a few feet and hundreds of feet being typical. Therefore, it is often the case that a source wireless device is out of transmission range with a destination wireless device with which the source device desires to communicate. The source wireless device user, therefore, has to wait until the destination wireless device comes within transmission range before attempting to communicate, or re-transmit the data at a later time when no acknowledgment is received from the destination device indicating that the device received the data from the source device.
FIG. 1 is a diagram of a two-node network illustrating this problem. The illustrative network includes a source device 115 and a destination device 120. As shown, each device (115, 120) has an effective transmission range delineated by dotted lines 105 and 110, respectively. Since the transmission range of source device 115 (dotted line 105) does not encompass destination device 120, device 115 cannot communicate with node 120. Device 115 must, therefore, move in closer proximity to device 120 to be able to transmit data to device 120. FIG. 2 illustrates the situation where source device 115 and destination device 120 have moved within transmission range of one another. As shown, each device""s (115, 120) effective transmission range (delineated by dotted lines 105 and 110, respectively) encompasses the other device. Devices 115 and 120, therefore, can communicate with each other.
An additional disadvantage with point-to-point communication in a mobile wireless network is that a source device may be unable to communicate with a destination device for a given period of time because the destination wireless device is either turned off or in an off-line status. In this case, the user of the source device must wait until the destination wireless returns to an on-line state, or turns on, before attempting once again to transmit data.
Therefore, there exists a need for a system and method that enables data communication between devices in a mobile wireless network, where the user of a sending device need only indicate data that is to be transmitted and the destination node to which the data is to be transmitted, and the sending device automatically attempts transmission of the data to the destination device, including re-transmission attempts if the destination device is out of transmission range, turned off, or off-line.
Systems and methods consistent with the present invention address this need by providing a wireless device that may store, and then forward, messages to destination devices when the destination devices come within transmission range of the wireless device.
In accordance with the purpose of the invention as embodied and broadly described herein, a method for introducing a first communication device to a second communication device in a communication network includes transmitting a message from the first communication device. The message includes presentation data that further includes at least one of audio, pictorial and video data representing an identity of the first communication device. The second communication device receives the message and extracts the presentation data from the message. The second communication device presents the presentation data to a user of the second communication device in auditory or visual form and receives user input in response to the presentation. The second communication device then stores the presentation data in memory in the second communication device based on the user input.
In another implementation consistent with the present invention, a method of providing an identifier for a communication device includes inputting at least one of auditory, pictorial and video information into the communication device and converting the auditory, pictorial and video information into device identifier data. The method further includes storing the device identifier data in a memory of said communication device.
In a further implementation consistent with the present invention, a method of sending a message to one or more recipients in a communications network includes retrieving device identifiers from a list of device identifiers stored in a memory of a first communication device. The device identifiers include at least one of audio, pictorial and video data. The method further includes presenting the audio, pictorial and video data to a user of the first communication device in auditory or visual form and receiving user input in response to said presentation. The method additionally includes designating a second communication device as a destination for the message based on said user input and sending the message to the second communication device.